Bill Haslam, Tennessee’s Republican governor, visited Israel for a few days in early September. He briefly spoke with TNReport about the trip following an event in Lenoir City on Sept. 10.

“The first priority was to strengthen economic development,” Haslam said.

“Israel has become a real high-tech nation,” the governor continued. “And a lot of technical discoveries, particularly around health care, where Tennessee is strong, have been made. We went over there to see, are there potential partnerships or investments that could happen that would benefit the state long term.”

A large health care provider in Northern Israel issued a press release following Haslam’s visit saying the governor and his wife, Crissy, had stopped in with a visiting entourage “to see the latest innovations in healthcare and to discuss collaboration between the state and the hospital.”